With recent popularization of hair coloring, damage after treatment with a coloring system (one-part type or two-part type) such as dryness or difficulty in styling of the hair has drawn attentions. The permanent waved hair also suffers such damage. The hair damage due to coloring or permanent waving treatment is said to occur because pores appear inside of the hair by chemical factors of the hair dye or permanent waving agent applied to the hair.
The hair loses its luster and moisture even by blow drying after shampooing. Such damage is found to occur because the inside of the hair becomes porous by the heat from a drier (Fragrance Journal, No. 6, 11(2000)).
For improving the touch feel of the shampooed hair, a hair cosmetic composition such as hair rinse, hair conditioner or hair treatment has been used. This hair cosmetic composition contains a cationic surfactant. Since single use of it is not sufficient for improving touch feel such as flexibility, a higher alcohol has been used in combination. This higher alcohol imparts the hair with flexibility and oily feel, thereby attaining an improvement in the touch feel. Owing to its high melting point, however, addition of it makes preparation of a hair cosmetic composition cumbersome and moreover, the hair cosmetic composition thus prepared involves a problem in stability (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 2000-72628, etc.).
Various hair cosmetic compositions having an organopolysiloxane oxyalkylene copolymer, acrylic resin or the like incorporated therein in order to improve optical properties of the hair such as luster have been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. Sho 56-129300). In these cosmetic compositions, improvement of optical properties is attained by the action of such a component on cuticles existing on the hair surface or in the vicinity thereof and its effect is only temporary and is not sufficient. In addition, a hair cosmetic composition for imparting the hair with luster by using a cationic surfactant in combination with a polyhydric alcohol, hydroxypropyl cellulose or the like is also proposed (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2998027), but it involves a problem in the touch feel upon application to the hair.